


Gift of a Smile

by Quadratur



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Character Study, Flirting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-28
Updated: 2010-09-28
Packaged: 2017-10-12 07:00:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quadratur/pseuds/Quadratur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saito ponders the ramifications of inception and its repercussions, and has a little chat with Eames about beautiful men and their smiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gift of a Smile

Saito had listened quietly while Eames and Cobb explained the plan to him, impressed not only by the basics of the plan, but also by the way Cobb and Eames meshed and worked together. They left once they were through; Eames going off with Arthur to allegedly work on some of the finer details concerning Browning, Cobb wandering over to the corner of the warehouse he'd claimed as his own, leaving Saito alone in front of the whiteboard. From the faint noises that drifted through the spacious room, Saito could estimate that Ariadne was working on some designs, humming softly under her breath while Yusuf was working on improving the sedative they needed for the dreams.

Saito was left alone with his thoughts and the basic foundations of a plan that would not only change the map of the international business world, but probably also the future.

He knew that he should check in with his assistant to check in, or maybe even simply check his emails and messages. He had obligations that he needed to take care off and he'd already spend way too much time with the team and with this one project, neglecting his other duties and leaving them in the hands of his aides and department-heads. Instead he found himself studying the photos of Robert Fisher. Some showed him together with his father, always a step behind him, or somehow in his shadow.

After a moment he reached out and took down one of the few pictures that showed Robert Fischer on his own. Once again he was struck by the fragile beauty of the man and the sadness that seems to surround him like an invisible cloak.

Most of his interactions in the past had been with Maurice Fischer and occasionally with Browning. Robert Fischer had always only appeared in the margins, even after Maurice Fischer had become so ill that he'd had to withdraw from the business.

Those few times he'd encountered both Fischer's at a convention or charity dinner, Robert had always been overshadowed by his father. Maurice Fischer had been a charismatic and energetic man, who knew how to work a crowd and how to draw attention and focus energy. People had responded to him.

Robert on the other hand had always struck Saito as much more introvert than his father. A sensitive thinker who despite his abilities and talents didn't really fit into the shark-pool that was the global business world and yet had been throw into it without any consideration for his own wishes and desires.

Some of the information Eames had so far unearthed during his observation of Browning had slightly unnerved Saito. He knew too well the desire to have a son continue what the father had created. In that aspect he'd been extremely lucky, as his own father had not only accepted his wish to not continue the tiny family business, but had always supported him and believed in him. This unwavering support had helped him build Procul to what it was today.

Now, Saito was trying to do the same for his children and found a lot of delight in young Yuri's enthusiasm for inorganic chemistry, his experiments and his latest research. Occasionally he harboured the idea, that one day Yuri might become CSO of Procul, but he would also accept it if Yuri wanted to focus mainly on research. Or even if he changed his mind somewhere along the way and decided to do something completely different. The same with Nami who at seven was already turning into a shrewd business-woman who knew exactly how to get her father to do what she wanted. If she wanted to one day take over Procul he would do everything in his power to support her and if she wanted to create her own empire, he would still support her.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Maurice Fischer had never even considered this path for his own son. Saito took another look at the picture in his hand and then at one of the board: Robert was two steps behind his father who seemed to be storming forward and looked tired, stressed and rather unhappy.

He wondered what Robert Fischer would have decided for himself if he'd ever been given the option and if his father had given him his unconditional support and approval. Would he still have chosen business? Or would he have done something completely different?

Maybe he would find out once they had performed inception on him and given him the freedom to make his own decisions, without being driven by the yearning for his father's approval. He remembered what Mr. Cobb had said: An idea that would define who he was.

"Having second thoughts, Mr. Saito?"

Saito turned towards Eames who'd suddenly appeared at his side and the looked back at the picture he still held in his hand. "I have met Robert Fischer several times and beyond politeness sake I have never seen him really smile, not even at his companion. I have always thought that he looked very…" He hesitated.

"…unhappy?" Eames said and Saito inclined his head in agreement. Eames nodded thoughtfully. "I had a similar impression; a deep-seated dissatisfaction with his life and his situation. Maybe changing his relationship with his father will help. He looks as if he might be stunning if he every really smiled."

Saito raised an eyebrow at the other man and almost smiled when Eames grinned at him. "I like looking at beautiful men… and women."

"And what does Arthur say about that." Saito asked and allowed the smile to come forward.

"Ah, Arthur… we do not have the kind of relationship where he has the right to say anything about my appreciation for other human beings."

"Hn, Arthur doesn't strike me as a fool, but if this is the case I might have to revise my opinion of him." Saito sent a sidelong glance towards Eames who looked at him with a bemused smile, showing no surprise at the fact that Saito knew about his relationship with Arthur.

"Say, Mr. Saito, are you flirting with me?" The amusement was clear in the Brits voice and Saito found himself grinning back, realizing that yes he was actually flirting with Eames who somehow made it fun and easy, in a very subtle way.

"Maybe I am, Mr. Eames. Do you think Arthur would find that objectionable?"

Eames smiled at him and shrugged. "We won't know until we try, will we?"

Saito had to admit to himself that he found the interaction between the young point-man and the forger rather fascinating, even more so once he realized that they often spend the night together. They were discreet and their bickering was an effective distraction, but Saito knew how to look beyond the obvious.

"I haven't come as far as I have without taking the occasional leap of faith, Mr. Eames. I think this game might be worth a try."

Eames was also stunning when he really smiled. It might be interesting to see what Arthur would do once he realized that someone was encroaching on territory he so clearly considered his, even if Eames didn't seem to see it that way, or doubted Arthur's attachment.

He turned his attention back to the picture in his hand and the other man who occupied his thoughts.

"As for Robert Fischer, I was merely pondering the ramifications of what we are about to do."

Eames nodded. "Changing another human being to this extend is a certain responsibility."

Saito frowned down at the picture. "You don't really seem bothered by it."

"I'm a thief, a forger and a professional liar, Mr. Saito. One you hired. If I had a consciousness that would be bothered by something like this, I would have done as my father expected me to do and not become a criminal."

Saito's gaze drifted to the whiteboard and the brief sentence Eames had written down as a kind of mission-statement: "My father wants me to create for myself."

Always the fathers. Saito again looked down at the picture in his hand. He didn't really regret his decision; he knew it was necessary if he wanted to do right by all the people that depended on him: his shareholders as much as his family and his employees.

But he also hoped that in the end his decision would bring a real smile to Robert Fischer's face.


End file.
